Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane (born 1965 in Pretoria) is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter.
His music is generally described as ”African folk”. Vusi Mahlasela, is simply known as ‘The Voice’ in his home-country, South Africa, celebrated for his distinct, powerful voice and his poetic, optimistic lyrics.http://vusimahlasela.com/bio/

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Leonard Cohen Hallelujah ..Lyrics:“Now I’ve heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don’t really care for music, do you?It goes like thisThe fourth, the fifthThe minor fall, the major liftThe baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proofYou saw her bathing on the roofHer beauty and the moonlight overthrew youShe tied youTo a kitchen chairShe broke your throne, and she cut your hairAnd from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vainI don’t even know the nameBut if I did, well really, what’s it to you?There’s a blaze of lightIn every wordIt doesn’t matter which you heardThe holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn’t muchI couldn’t feel, so I tried to touchI’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool youAnd even thoughIt all went wrongI’ll stand before the Lord of SongWith nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

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Last thing I remember is the freezing cold
Water reaching up just to swallow me whole
Ice in the rigging and howling wind
Shock to my body as we tumbled in
Then my brothers and the others are lost at sea
I alone am returned to tell thee
Hidden in ice for a century
To walk the world again
Lord have mercy on the frozen man

Next words that were spoken to me
Nurse asked me what my name might be
She was all in white at the foot of my bed
I said angel of mercy I’m alive or am I dead
My name is William James McPhee
I was born in 1843
Raised in Liverpool by the sea
But that ain’t who I am
Lord have mercy on the frozen man

It took a lot of money to start my heart
To peg my leg and to buy my eye
The newspapers call me the state of the art
And the children, when they see me, cry
I thought it would be nice just to visit my grave
See what kind of tombstone I might have
I saw my wife and my daughter and it seemed so strange
Both of them dead and gone from extreme old age
See here, when I die make sure I’m gone
Don’t leave ’em nothing to work on
You can raise your arm, you can wiggle your hand
And you can wave goodbye to the frozen man

I know what it means to freeze to death
To lose a little life with every breath
To say goodbye to life on earth
To come around again
Lord have mercy on the frozen man
Lord have mercy on the frozen man

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On the other side, the sun always shines No minutes, no hour, there’s no such thing as time Where the streets are paved with gold and you never grow old on the other side

On the other side, everybody sings there’s miles and miles of flowers and lots of pretty things Where the sky’s pearly blue and everything looks brand new on the other side

Chorus 1 Well I’ve never been to heaven, I didn’t know what it was like But God let me have a glimpse, in my dream last night And I could see you smiling, you were looking right at me For the first time in a long time, on your face I saw some peace I knew everything was going to be all right, on the other side, on the other side.

On the other side, do you ever see me cry Do you know how much I miss you, wish I could have said good-bye Just one more I love you, oh am I really getting through on the other side?

Chorus 2 Well I’ve never been to heaven, I didn’t know what it was like But God let me have a glimpse, in my dream last night And I could hear you laughing, you were looking right at me For the first time in a long time, on your face I saw some peace I knew everything was going to be all right, no more tears and no more sad good-byes, on the other side On the other side

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

— Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek The Next Generation

I’ve always enjoyed this poem, on several levels, not the least the humor in the scene in which it’s read:

Sisters of Mercy

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone.They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can’t go on.And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me their song.Oh I hope you run into them, you who’ve been travelling so long.

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.Well I’ve been where you’re hanging, I think I can see how you’re pinned:When you’re not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you’ve sinned.

They lay down beside me, I made my confession to them.They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem.If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemnthey will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon.Don’t turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon.And you won’t make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:We weren’t lovers like that and besides it would still be all right,We weren’t lovers like that and besides it would still be all right.

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Tammi, Kate, Marty and I were at the Dec. 10, 2010 performance of this by Danú at Macky Auditorium.

Miss Fogerty’s Christmas Cake

Irish Christmas Song

As I sat in my window last evening
The letterman brought it to me
A little gilt-edged invitation sayin’
“Gilhooley come over to tea”
I knew that the Fogarties sent it.
So I went just for old friendships sake.
The first thing they gave me to tackle
Was a slice of Miss Fogarty’s cake.

Chorus

There were plums and prunes and cherries,
There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too
There was nutmeg, cloves and berries
And a crust that was nailed on with glue
There were caraway seeds in abundance
Such that work up a fine stomach ache
That could kill a man twice after eating a slice
Of Miss Fogarty’s Christmas cake.

Miss Mulligan wanted to try it,
But really it wasn’t no use
For we worked in it over an hour
And we couldn’t get none of it loose
Till Murphy came in with a hatchet
And Kelly came in with a saw
That cake was enough be the powers above
For to paralyze any man’s jaws

Miss Fogarty proud as a peacock,
Kept smiling and blinking away
Till she flipped over Flanagans brogans
And she spilt the homebrew in her tea
Aye Gilhooley she says you’re not eatin,
Try a little bit more for me sake
And no Miss Fogarty says I,
For I’ve had quite enough of your cake

Maloney was took with the colic,
O’Donald’s a pain in his head
Mc’Naughton lay down on the sofa,
And he swore that he wished he was dead
Miss Bailey went into hysterics
And there she did wriggle and shake
And everyone swore they were poisoned
Just from eating Miss Fogarty’s cake

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I set out on a narrow way, many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn’t see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yes He did

I think about the years I spent, just passing through
I’d like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You’ve been there, you understand
It’s all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

But now I’m just rolling home into my lover’s arms
This much I know is true

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Was thinking about my beloved Marilyn Bonita today (it’s our wedding anniversary today) and this song came up on the radio.

I swear sometimes God is standing right next to me with His hand on my heart.

I’m trying to go on, but when a song touches ‘the one within’ part of me bursts into flame and my grief becomes incandescent agony.

I miss you Didi. Thank you for sending Tammi. She knows this pain and she helps me as I help her grieve for her beloved Scott.

I’m glad you’re someplace where pain can no longer touch you.

Remember when it rained

by Josh Groban

Wash away the thoughts inside
That keep my mind away from you.
No more love and no more pride
And thoughts are all I have to do.

Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.
Felt the ground and looked up high
And called your name.
Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.
In the darkness I remain.

Tears of hope run down my skin.
Tears for you that will not dry.
They magnify the one within
And let the outside slowly die.

Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.
I felt the ground and looked up high
And called your name.
Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.
In the water I remain
Running down
Running down
Running down
Running down
Running down
Running down
Running down

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German neuroscientists made a breakthrough in ‘age-related cognitive decline’, a common condition that often begins in one’s late 40s (especially declarative memory — the ability to recall facts and experiences). Their new study identifies a genetic ‘switch’ for the cluster of learning and memory genes that cause memory impairment in aging mice. By injecting an enzyme, the team ‘flipped’ the switch to its on position for older mice, giving them the memory and learning performance they’d enjoyed when they were young. Now the team ultimately hopes to recover seemingly lost long-term memory in human patients.” The video, which explains the gene flipping mechanism, is worth a watch (2:18).